README

synctool by Walter de Jong <walter@heiho.net> (c) 2003-2012

synctool COMES WITH NO WARRANTY. synctool IS FREE SOFTWARE.
synctool is distributed under terms described in the GNU General Public
License.

See the INSTALL file for information on how to deploy synctool.
See the DOCUMENTATION file for information on how to use synctool.

Online documentation in HTML pages is available at:
http://www.heiho.net/synctool/


synctool is a tool that can help you administer your cluster of computers.
It is meant for copying configuration files to groups (or classes) of
computers within a cluster.
There are other tools in existence that do the same thing, and ironically,
none of them are as easy to understand and use as synctool.

synctool simplyfies things by working with the following concepts:

 * a host can be part of a logical group
 * files are designated a group by means of filename extension
 * the 'overlay' directory tree contains the files and directories that should
   be copied (or 'synced') to the target host
 * when certain files are updated, you will want to execute a script
   (eg, /etc/init.d/daemon restart)
 * synctool is a simple tool. By itself, it does not even communicate over the
   network. It uses rsync to distribute repositories over an SSH channel.
   Not only does this make synctool fast, it also makes it easy to understand
   and use.

However, synctool does more than just this. Note how synctool manages
files, not processes, and not full system installations. However, synctool
is extensible in the sense that it can run scripts on hosts (via the
'tasks' mechanism). This is primarily meant to do synchronized updates of
software packages on all systems in the cluster, but can also be used
to check daemons, or perform other system administration tasks.
Making clever use of synctool makes it a very powerful tool.

synctool is successfully being used to administrate several clusters at the
Dutch national supercomputer facility for nearly 7 years now. Hopefully,
it will be of some value to you as well.


Greets,

     --Walter

EOB